I love the out of season inspiration of northern hemisphere blogs.  As sewers start to show off their winter wardrobes, I start to weave my dream projects.  So few of them happen but it is nice to dream.  However, garden blogs are where the 6 month difference is incredibly inspirational.  So often, just as their flowers are coming out in the northern hemisphere, it is time to prepare and plant here.

I have been admiring the winter roses over at Saipua. They seem to be the perfect plant for the beginning of spring.  I can imagine them in strange blooms from below the straggly bare hydrangeas come spring time.

I even found some china ones at a school gala on the weekend.  They were hidden at the back of a stall, still wrapped in newspaper.  I offered to help unwrap only to find this beautiful Crown Lynn set - cups, sugar bowl and 2 coordinating jugs.  The little winter rose pattern is called "Saphire" and it has me thinking it is time to plant some real ones.

A bundle of kitchen goodness arrived on my door step last week.  It was from the lovely Laurel @ Patchinista as part of the Modern Scrappy Bits Swap. You can see lovely linen prints, as bag and some quirky kitchen themed prints.  If you look, you can also see the friendly pattern reviewing sheep on the cover of my new needle book.

Once upon a time, a typwriter meant independence.  A portable typewriter meant travel.

I saw this gem at a garage sale.  Normally I would have snapped it up and just marveled at it.  This typewriter however, has a story.  It belonged to a lady called Fay.

Last week Fay handed me a package that she had been looking for.  It was the spare typewriter ribbon.  I asked if it was OK to tell the story of her typewriter.   She said yes.

I've know Fay for years.  She is a quiet, thoughtful and prayerful woman.  Fay traveled the world as a missionary and this is the typewriter she took with her.

She bought it in Singapore in 1965 as she headed to East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) to serve with the Baptist Christian Missionary Service.

I love the design of this duck egg blue typewriter. So slick and compact with no excesses.  Why waste space with a number '1' when and 'I' will do just as well.  It was designed by Marcello Nizzoli and first produced in 1963.  The marketing campaign was just as appealing.

As well as the design, I love the idea of the most no fuss lady I know, deciding that this was the typewriter for her.



This little olivetti has me dreaming of little letters left on thick yellow cards and long typed essays.  I think, given the choice, I would have chosen this one too.


Linking up with Op Shop Show Off

 

My garden has been leading me astray this summer.  It started when the trees came down and suddenly all the raised beds had full sunlight.  We had kept them for years hoping that they would at least provide shelter from the frost.  It turns out, they make better firewood.

As daylight savings started, I let go of resolutions to get some more exercise.  Instead I stood with garden hose in hand, willing everything to just grow.

There were night raids for snails.  I didn't like the idea of the blitzem chemicals doing away with all my healthy garden worms.  The funny thing about articles on organic snail hunting is that they never tell you what to do with the snails once you catch them.  We learnt that the first 2 hours of dark on a damp night was the best time and that snails can escape from inside stacked ice-cream containers.  I also learnt that it is easier to work with the curious 5 year old face that pops up at the window during night time raids, than to tell her to go back to sleep.

After the snails were gone, the slugs turned up and so did the blitzem.

The tomatoes were wonderful, but albeit brief.  Many of them finished mid February, kneecapped by wilt.  I embraced the cherry tomato.  I staked out a teepee of them and even planted out more seedlings in December.  These ones are just coming on now, leaving me with handfuls of shining jewels.

The tiny front door flower patch is finally lifting its head after the summer heat.  There are self sewn hollyhocks and garage sale dahlias bursting into bloom.  They promised to be red and yellow.  I didn't realise this meant both at the same time.

The garden has been a nice diversion.  One I'm a little reluctant to let go of as winter looms closer.  Perhaps this year I will finally get winter crops of carrots and leeks and of course winter roses.

I'm putting together a pile of treasures to post off for the Modern Scrappy Bits Swap.  I enjoyed the last swap so much, I had to give it another go.  On a local front, I've signed up for the scrap bag swap too. I'm not sure it this makes me wise, impulsive or just a glutton for as good thing.

This is my first attempt at a fabric basket.  I'm trying to keep it soft and flexible to avoid annoying the postal gods. I'm beginning to wonder if some vintage tea towels might make good baskets too.